Who Should Make the NBA Eastern All-Star Team?

Who’s the fifth starter in the East, and is Dwyane Wade really an All-Star? I make the case.

It’s that time of year again. All-Star voting ended for fans on Monday, and now we await the results from the coaches and players before the official All-Star rosters are revealed. And the Western Conference may have the more talented and deep roster available, but the Eastern All-Stars are a little more interesting. There are four sure thing starters, but who’s the fifth? And there are only eight or nine All-Star locks, so who gets the final few spots?

Let’s go through the sure things and the also-rans and see if we can learn something new about each one. We’ll start at the top with a team captain and go in order down the list picking 12 deserving starters, three coaches, and one surprising pick at the finale. Off we go!

East Captain

F Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee

Giannis has been the best player in the East. He’s playing almost four minutes fewer per game this year because the Bucks are so good, but his scoring, assist, and rebounding rates are higher than ever. Even in a reduced minutes, he’s at 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists a game playing a quarter of his time at center (finally!) and responding with a huge increase in rebounds.

He’s also dunking almost four times a night, his 163 dunks already surpassing last year’s total. Thanks to better looks than ever, Giannis is at a ridiculous 64% two-point percentage, just a hair behind Rudy Gobert and DeAndre Jordan atop the league, up over 10% from his career rate. Antetokounmpo is top ten in the league in scoring, and a full 25% of his field goals are dunks. Those are Shaq-like dunk numbers. Who needs a three when you can just dunk it every time?

There’s one other thing we tend to overlook with Giannis: his defense. The Bucks are the league’s number one defense, and Antetokounmpo leads the team with a 99 defensive rating. He’s the best defensive player on the best defensive team in the league while leading them in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, highlights, and every other conceivable stat not named three pointers. Sounds like an MVP to me.

The 3 Other Obvious East Starters

F Kawhi Leonard, Toronto

Kawhi is officially back. At 28 and 8 shooting 50/37/85, Leonard has remarkably similar offensive numbers to Kevin Durant, and I don’t need to tell you which one is the better defender. Kawhi has the best offensive numbers of his career and you might be surprised to learn he’s playing a career-high minutes per game. That’s the sort of thing you can do when you miss 14 games and never play back-to-backs, and it’s fair to say that’s inflating his numbers a bit, but we’ll take them however we can get them.

C Joel Embiid, Philadelphia

Embiid is putting up 27 points, 13 boards, and 4 assists a game with the best offensive efficiency of his career. Most importantly, Embiid appears healthy at last, playing a full minutes load and essentially a full slate of games. Embiid’s shooting is not as good as you think. His mid-range is down, but he’s shooting less of them, and his three is only 30%. He’s also still turning the ball over a ton, though less than in the past. But he’s taking more shots near the basket and dunking and getting to the line more, too. Embiid probably isn’t as much of an inside-out threat as you think, but he’s pretty darn good nonetheless.

G Kyrie Irving, Boston

Boston has been a relative disaster considering expectations, but don’t blame Kyrie. Irving has the best numbers of his career, including his highest two- and three-point shooting numbers ever, a few free throws from a 50–40–90 season. He’s finally engaging on defense and actually holding his own. Irving has the best offensive and defensive ratings of his career, and while that may not shock you, pause for a second and remember that he played most of his career next to the greatest player of his generation. Kyrie wanted to get his own team and see if he could take his game to the next level. On the court, at least, he’s actually done it.

So Who Gets the Last Starting Guard Spot?

G Victor Oladipo, Indiana

The East is so thin it’s hard to find 12 deserving All-Stars, and it feels equally difficult to pick a deserving fifth starter. Victor Oladipo hasn’t been as good as last season. He’s missed 11 games and his numbers are all down, but it’s probably less of a regression and more just dealing with injury all year. He’s not finishing as well near the rim, and a 19/6/5 line is fine but feels disappointing. Still, let’s not overthink this. Oladipo is the clear best player on the East’s third best team. He’s definitely an All-Star and, given our options, it makes the most sense to reward him with a starting spot. Unfortunately, Oladipo’s season is over after a terrible leg injury. Get well soon, Vic.

Four East Reserve Locks

F Blake Griffin, Detroit

Blake might be having the best season of his career. He’s averaging a career-high 26ppg with a career-best 2.4 threes per game and 60% true shooting. As Griffin’s game has evolved, he’s added an outside shot and ball handling seemingly at the expense of his inside game, but this year we’re getting the whole package. Griffin’s twos and free throws are up as he seems to have found the perfect balance. At 26/8/5, Blake is a couple assists and a free throw away from the 27/7/7 line LeBron posts with ease every year. Detroit may not be particularly interesting, but Blake is ready to head back to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2015.

G Ben Simmons, Philadelphia

Ho hum, Simmons is averaging 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists as a sophomore. Simmons was so good out of the gates we take these numbers for granted, even though only Wilt, Russ, and Oscar have ever posted them over a full season. Simmons’s numbers are mostly the same as last year and he still can’t shoot free throws or threes, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a deserving All-Star. Heck, if he counts as a guard — and, you know, he’s their point guard — he should probably get Oladipo’s starting spot, too.

G Bradley Beal, Washington

For the second straight season, the Wizards have blossomed in the absence of John Wall, and again, it’s Beal doing much of the blossoming. He’s averaging just under 30ppg since Wall’s season ended and is top five in the league in minutes while every other key Washington player has missed at least ten games, most of them more. Beal is posting 25, 5, and 5 and has the Wizards in the playoff hunt despite missing every presumed starter besides Otto Porter. He’s even surpassed this next guy with how hot he’s been lately.

G Kemba Walker, Charlotte

Kemba was sizzling to start the season but has slowed down immensely, hitting just 42% of his field goals since Thanksgiving. His two-point percentage in particular is down, always a problem at Walker’s size. Still, like Beal, Kemba has kept a terrible team in the watered-down playoff mix despite precious little help. Who’s even the second best Hornet? Walker’s only teammate scoring more than 10ppg is Jeremy Lamb. Still, the Hornets seem set on pledging their allegiance to Walker with a fat extension this summer despite the landfill of a roster around him. They might be better off losing the next two weeks and finally moving on from Kemba and looking to the future.

The East Also-Rans

So far, we’re at nine Eastern All-Stars, which leaves three spots. It’s a typical weak field in the East, even before the Oladipo injury, so a lot of names have been tossed out. Let’s put a few of them to bed.

John Collins is not an All-Star. I know 19 and 10 looks nice but he’s on a terrible team posting empty numbers and has only played 30 games, and he’s horrible on defense. He’s coming, but not yet. I’m not ready for Domantas Sabonis either. His advanced numbers are off the charts but come mostly against bench units, and I’m not ready to put a bench player in the All-Star Game. Myles Turner is the more deserving Pacer, even if he’s not as sexy. Turner hasn’t progressed offensively, but he’s a Defensive Player of the Year candidate as the anchor of the league’s second-ranked defense. One of those two may get in with the Oladipo injury, but neither “feels” like an All-Star.

D’Angelo Russell isn’t an All-Star either. Russell is suddenly hitting a barrage of threes, but I fear it may actually be a mirage of threes. He’s only making 48% of his twos and barely ever gets to the line, so his game is all about whether that jumper is falling, and one hot month doesn’t make you an All-Star. D-Lo still has a negative net rating and isn’t even the best point guard on his own team. I’d sooner give a spot to Josh Richardson. His 18/4/4 isn’t quite Russell’s 19/4/6, but Richardson is shooting just as well from deep and his numbers are deflated by a bottom-seven pace and a winter slowdown. Still, add in his defense and the fact that he’s the best player an Eastern playoff team, and Richardson has a case. If anyone deserves an All-Star spot on the Nets or the Heat, it probably should have been Caris LeVert.

Jimmy Butler sat out last year’s All-Star Game, and he deserves to sit this one out, too. General Soreness is averaging his lowest points, rebounds, assists, and free throws in four years, and he basically has the same numbers as D’Angelo Russell. What’s so special about 19/5/3? And lest you pull the defense card, Philly is playing worse defense than last year. Oh, and Butler openly tanked an entire team’s season for a full month. You pull that kind of crap and post middling numbers and you get to skip the All-Star Game a year.

I’d still give Butler an All-Star spot ahead of J.J. Redick. Redick is a role player who has one job, and he’s not even doing that job particularly swimmingly since he’s hitting his fewest threes since his Orlando days with the worst defensive rating of his career. Sorry, but the All-Star Game is for stars. I love Redick but we already pulled this role player crap when we let Kyle Korver into the ASG with his three Hawks teammates. Role players and glue guys are awesome, and I have mad respect for what Redick, Danny Green, and Brook Lopez add to their teams. They’ll get their shine in May, not February.

It feels like there should be a second Celtic, but who are you taking? Jayson Tatum has been fine. He’s shooting again but averaging just 16 and 6 and has been inconsistent from game to game. Marcus Morris is basically matching Tatum’s numbers with a career year and is probably more deserving. Gordon Hayward doesn’t even get his name in bold. Honestly, I’d still take Al Horford over any non-Kyrie Celtic. Horford’s struggled to stay healthy and is seventh on the team in minutes with a measly 12/6/4 line, but his production is the same as ever, just in a reduced minutes load. He does so much for this team on both ends and is the one guy they can’t win without.

How about a second Raptor? Serge Ibaka is doing his usual thing. He’s been particularly good with the move to center, but he’s clearly behind someone like Horford in the All-Star pecking order. Pascal Siakam has been the better Toronto big man. He leads the Raptors in minutes and has the best differential on the team. He’s doing everything at the same rate as last year but playing ten more minutes and doing it against starting units, an underrated and difficult leap. He’s also learning how to shoot, almost doubling his free throw rate and finding some jumpers to increase his true shooting almost 10%. Still, at the end of the day, Toronto’s second best player is Kyle Lowry. He’s struggling this season but is still the bellwether for Toronto’s success.

The Final 3 Spots

F Khris Middleton, Milwaukee

You probably noticed there’s one team we didn’t cover in our “shouldn’t they have a second All-Star” paragraphs, and that’s because Middleton is a sure-thing All-Star. On the surface it looks like Middleton took a step back. His shooting is down, and he’s down to 17ppg after scoring 20ppg last year. But dig a little deeper. Middleton is taking smarter shots and playing more efficient ball, and his counting numbers are only down because he’s playing fewer minutes on a winning team that doesn’t need him many fourth quarters. Middleton is at 17/6/4 with a 38% three. Compare that to Eric Bledsoe’s 16/4/5. Bledsoe might be benefiting the most from Milwaukee’s newfound space, making an outlying 77% of his shots at the rim with a two-point percentage up a full 12% from his career average. He still can’t hit threes and his defense isn’t what it once was, and Middleton just has to do a little more for this team and, frankly, has better numbers. He gets the spot.

C Nik Vucevic, Orlando

Vucevic deserves to make the All-Star team. He’s posting career numbers across the board with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, and his 58% true shooting is a career high thanks in part to him suddenly adding a 38% three out of the blue this season. Vucevic has become a modern NBA big man overnight, the sort of player every team wants, and the exact guy they should be trading for on the final year of an affordable expiring contract.

G Kyle Lowry, Toronto

Lowry gets my last spot over Horford, Bledsoe, and Turner. Lowry is down to 14ppg, his lowest as a starter, and his 32% three is his worst in a decade. He’s missed 11 games playing through injury, which no doubt ties directly to those recessions, and he’s definitely worse than any of his previous four All-Star appearances. Still, Lowry is suddenly generating huge assist numbers, second only to Russell Westbrook, and he had that blazing first month with 18 points and 12 assists a game before the injuries began to mount. Lowry has been underrated so long it’s okay if he’s a little overrated now. I just feel better giving my final Eastern spot to someone like Kyle Lowry or Al Horford that I know is worthy than talking myself into someone else.

The Eastern Coaches

I wrote about this previously, but it’s high time we start picking coaches for the All-Star Game, too. We’re taking three from each conference.

Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer is the obvious first pick. Unless you think Brook Lopez is some kind of world beater, there’s really no way around the fact that Bud came in and took Jason Kidd’s nearly identical roster and turned them into the league’s best regular season team. The next time we wonder if coaching and system matters, this will be test case 101. Bud’s defensive schemes have made Milwaukee number one on that end, and his spacing and willingness to use Giannis Antetokounmpo as a big man have transformed the entire offense. The Bucks are here and they are real, and it’s thanks to Bud.

Toronto has been here the entire time, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give Nick Nurse some credit. He was put into a pretty difficult position considering he’s replacing the defending Coach of the Year and was handed a roster of sour players after their buddy got traded plus a still-recovering star that might not want to be around. You’d never know it. Nurse has the Raptors humming, and even more impressively, he’s shown a willingness to try new looks, to experiment. It’s reminiscent of Gregg Popovich, and it’s going to matter come playoff time when the Raptors know how to play with any variety of lineups or styles.

Our last spot has to go to Brooklyn’s Kenny Atkinson. Atkinson has turned the Nets into one of the most fun teams in the league, competing hard night in and night out. Atkinson has deftly managed minutes between D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie, using the right one in the right situation, and he’s taken a team of hand-me-downs and afterthoughts above sea level despite missing LeVert for much of the season. I’m not sure this is all doing much for the Nets long-term, but for now, Atkinson is to be commended.

The Legacy Pick

Since we’re updating rules, I’ve got one more rule change. Each year when the coaches and players vote, they also get to make one legacy pick. It’s a 13th roster spot that’s available but not mandatory any given year. If any player passes 50% of the vote, we put them in the All-Star Game. Players can only be voted in with the legacy pick once.

The legacy pick is for guys like Dirk Nowitzki, playing in his final season and no longer at an All-Star level, but a player worth celebrating one final time anyway. Some might choose to recognize a comeback story like Derrick Rose, or maybe a player like Mike Conley finally gets a career recognition legacy pick. It’s criminal that guys like Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili passed quietly into retirement without one final All-Star send-off. The legacy pick fixes that.

Our 2019 Eastern legacy pick is Dwyane Wade. And the thing about legacy picks is I don’t really even feel the need to defend or explain the pick. That’s sort of the point. This is DWade’s last year, and it feels like he should be playing in the All-Star Game. That’s it. Put him in there.

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